Pages

March 11, 2013

The storm

Unpredictable weather is one thing that I have to get used to here in the southern belt. The morning was bring and sunny with lots of dust around and the temperature was on ever increasing pace. I could smell the sweat that perspired from the children’s forehead in absence of the electricity that is supplied from across the border which is almost non-existence.

After having shouted in the class of more than forty students from 8.50 am till 12.40 pm, I drove home alone to have my lunch. My children carry their lunch to the school because the students are not allowed outside the school during lunch hours. I had just finished my lunch with my husband when we felt a very strong breeze. I opened the door to see the small plants outside my door struggling to stay upright while the strong wind was on the verge of uprooting them. The leaves from every tree nearby seemed to float at the same time and there was nothing visible. The howling of winds made my tiny puppy hide under the sofa. I stood on my verandah and watched the world swinging in turmoil. The twigs were falling everywhere and I had luckily parked my car inside the garage. (I usually park my car in front of my door)

I couldn’t drive back to school in the storm and waited for the storm to pass but it started raining. The howling of wind added with the platters on the rooftop made it unbearable. We couldn’t hear a word the other was saying. The power got cut off and the rain fell nonstop. I called the school saying that I would report a bit late and waited for the storm to subside. I didn’t have to wait for long. The storm subsided very quickly like it started without much delay and the sun was up bright and hot as ever within a few minutes of that terrible storm.

The scene that welcomed me at school was another shocking experience. Some trees were bare of branches and school campus was full of twigs of various sizes. Lucky that the students were not out during the storm…